A former Anglican priest who kept the UK’s biggest collection of paedophile material in a secret vault at his country mansion has had an appeal to be allowed to spend time with young boys rejected.

Michael Studdert, 76, asked that a ban on contact with male children under the age of 16 was lifted because it was "not necessary or proportionate".

Mr Studdert, who was living in a 17-acre plot in Churt Road, Hindhead, when he was originally investigated, wanted to associate with two Polish families whose children "refer to him as a grandfather figure", Southwark Crown Court heard this week.

However, the court heard that police believe the parents are ‘not taking seriously’ the risk he poses to their young children.

When refusing his application on Wednesday July 8, Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith said: “I am very concerned about his relationship with those two Polish families.

“The evidence before me shows this applicant is capable of being extremely cautious about disguising his interest in children.”

Mr Studdert refused to give evidence at the court hearing but instead relied on a witness statement where he said: “I wish to maintain close contact with these very long-standing friends and their children, they are in many ways like blood relatives.”

Both families provided statements to the court which said they knew about Studdert’s previous convictions and were happy for him to spend time alone with their children.

Alice Meredith, from Cambridge Police, said it was an "extraordinary" situation that the parents of the two children saw no risk from Studdert.

“He clearly has a sexual interest in boys and as he hasn’t given evidence I have been unable to cross-examine him as to whether he derives sexual enjoyment from that contact,” she said.

Ms Meredith said there were concerns that the family had been ‘groomed financially’.

Detectives attended Studdert’s Hindhead home following an investigation codenamed Glenlivet, launched in 2002.

Studdert had amassed a library, which was described as "an Aladdin’s cave of every conceivable form of material of child pornography" and contained at least 100,000 images

The haul is the biggest ever collection attributed to a single person in the UK

He was jailed for four years in 2006 and made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) banning him from access to any computer or device capable of downloading photos.

In 2010, this condition was relaxed to allow limited computer access, but in exchange he agreed to a new order banning him from owning pornography.

An additional condition banned him from having any conduct with male children under 16 years without prior written approval.

His new application to remove the contact prohibition was refused.

Sam Blom-Cooper, for Studdert, said his client did not realise he had agreed to the ban in 2010.

Studdert, now living near Stevenage, Hertfordshire, had previously admitted 20 counts of making indecent pictures of a child, one of distributing indecent images of a child and one of simple possession of such an image of a child between January 12, 2001 and January 26 of 2006.